‘Warcraft’ May Go Up Against ‘Star Wars: Episode 7′ in December 2015

'Warcraft' is looking to join the fray of 2015's big movies, and has announced a release date of December 18, 2015.That's a bold move as 'Star Wars: Episode 7' has yet to announce their release date yet, but word was that the film was eying a December launch. Might there be a release date war for December 2015 already?

Though there are already three other pictures dated for December 2015, it makes sense that the Duncan Jones-helmed 'Warcraft' would want that date. First off, opening then means you get the opening weekend, then Christmas weekend, then New Year's Eve weekend. It's a strategy that's worked well for pictures like 'Avatar,' among others. On top of that it will be coming the year after 'The Hobbit' finishes up its trilogy, and will be released around the same time those films were, and will likely have some elements in common (studios often think "if it worked before..." when it comes to release dates).

That said, the elephant in the room is 'Episode 7,' and if J.J. Abrams and company announce that it will hit theaters for Christmas 2015, it's likely that 'Warcraft' could blink. Still, Legendary Pictures released this news today via Facebook, so they're calling their shot. Here's what they said:

Legendary Pictures’ WARCRAFT, based upon Blizzard Entertainment’s globally-renowned universe, will be released by Universal Pictures on Friday, December 18, 2015. WARCRAFT marks the first film dated under the recently formed partnership between Universal and Legendary.

The film, an epic adventure of world-colliding conflict, will be directed by Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) and is written by Charles Leavitt and Duncan Jones. The producers are Charles Roven and Alex Gartner for Atlas Entertainment and Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni for Legendary. Stuart Fenegan, Jillian Share and Brent O’Connor will serve as executive producers. Blizzard’s Chris Metzen will co-produce.